Sean C. Morgan
The Oregon Department of Transportation’s $1.3 billion state Bridge Delivery Program is underway with 27 bridges already under construction and many more scheduled for work in upcoming years.
Mark Ford, representing Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners, spoke to local residents and business owners about the project at the Sweet Home Economic Development Group’s Breakfast Club Thursday morning.
OBDP is a joint venture of HDR and Fluor Enterprises. It has been retained for design oversight and construction management for the replacement of 365 state bridges.
Oregon bridges have developed cracks in recent years, making them a significant priority for the last legislature, Ford said. The legislature authorized $1.3 billion to be spent on repairing bridges and modernization projects over 10 years.
“Truck traffic that moves the freight moves the economy,” Ford said, so the legislature wanted to get to work on the bridges before standard trucks must be prohibited from state bridges.
OBDP would like to complete the projects in eight years, Ford said.
ODOT chose to hire a manager for the program rather than creating a job that would be cut when the project is completed, Ford said. Initially, ODOT and OBDP looked at doing the worst bridges first, but that would have put many parallel routes under construction at the same time.
Rather, they decided it would be better to do the projects one corridor at a time, Ford said.
Construction, about $66 million worth of projects, is underway on 27 bridges along Interstate Five, Highway 20, Highway 26 and Highway 97.
Over the next 10 years, the projects will support an estimated 5,000 jobs per year for local workers, contractors and communities, according to ODOT.
“The need is undeniable,” ODOT’s ITIA III Bridge Delivery Program Manager Heather Catron said. “Oregon has aging bridges on every state highway in the system. Most of these critical brides were built almost 50 years ago and are close to exceeding their lifespan.”
Among bridges slated for repair or replacement are 24 in Linn County, Ford said. Six of those are local bridges.
The new bridges should have an expected lifespan of 80 to 100 years instead of 40 to 50 years, Ford said.
For each project, ODOT is promoting environmental stewardship, controlling costs, supporting economic diversity, protecting community and cultural values and stimulating statewide economic growth.
Diversity experts are working with minority communities and contractors to create business opportunities, jobs and training programs in the design and construction industries.
“To get maximum economic impact, we’d really like to use local designers in this process,” Ford said. His company will subcontract designers and handle engineering and inspection work. ODOT will hire the construction contractors.
Projects will be designed and packaged in such a way that Oregon contractors will be able to bid on them, Ford said. This helps the local economy further.
Oregon does not have enough businesses capable of
Traffic engineers will keep traffic moving during construction by coordinating bridge repair work with other state and local highway repairs. Goals and standards are being set at statewide, corridor and project levels to enhance traffic flow during construction.
ODOT will keep truckers and travelers informed about construction delays and alternate routes as more bridges are added to the construction schedule.
Projects are being designed to meet state and federal environmental standards, which will simplify the review and permitting process required by regulators.
ODOT is working with stakeholders to identify corridor design themes for the bridges to reflect community values.
By next summer, ODOT will have about 50 projects underway with about 100 a year after that, Ford said.
“The program goes beyond just repairing and replacing bridges,” Catron said. “We’re also building opportunities for Oregonians and communities.”
For more information about the persons may visit http://www.odotbridgesce.org, http://www.jobs4oregon.com and http://www.odot.state.or.us.
The next Breaksfast Club meeting will be at 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 2.
Sue Hankins of the Oregon Employment Department will speak on “business services and more.”